An Economist’s
Miscellany, 2011, KaushikBasu, OUP, 240 pages
Kaushik Basu is that rare being- an
economist with the flourish of a litterateur. As a professor of Economics at
Cornell University, former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India and
presently the senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, he
has adorned many roles. In each of his passing act, he has left an indelible
mark of individuality and impression. After a long series of serious academic work
and popular essays for the common reader, this book comes as a potpourri of the
many threads Basu holds close to his heart.
This book is a delightful mix of the
various interests in Basu’s life that spans economics, sociology, art,
literature and philosophy. It has essays on an array of fields of academics,
musings on everyday life, travel memoirs and impressions, translation of two
classic Bengali short stories from the nineteenth century, introduction to two
engaging games created by the author and even a play set in an academic world!
In its scope and diversity, this volume transcends genres and its lightness and
brevity, it excites the reader to foray into a number of worlds held together
by Basu’s wide interests and inimitable humour. Written at a juncture in life when
he was moving from his comfort zone of academics (with a fairly predictable
routine) to the mind boggling world of policy making as he took up the
challenging job of Chief Economic Advisor, this book also offers a unique
glimpse into his inner world including the many surpirses that he encountered,
his apprehensions, hope and expectations.
Reinventing the world
around
Basu delivers on his usual cocktail
of political economy, foreign
affairs, trade and economics obliquely
shedding light on the inner world and workings of professional economists and
researchers. ‘Philosophy
has to be deductive, poetry romantic, plays and fiction humorous, and politics
intriguing if they are to catch my attention,' remarks the author as he
prepares to lead us into the book. This is a presage of things to come since
the book is a veritable kaleidoscope of crossing boundaries among different
sketches of life Basu paints in his vast canvas.
He begins a section with essays and commentaries on the contemporary
world including a comparison between China and the emerging India. After a few
delightful essays covering some of his work, he moves on to draw personalities
like AmartyaSen and Paul Samuelson with a few deft strokes. There are anecdotes and tales about
‘personnages’ that Basu has come across in far away land. What I enjoyed the
best are the travel memoirs, including the one in which the author uses the
logic of game theory to nab a pickpocket on the streets of Europe. Witty and
eloquent, these stories reveal economists as a special ‘species’ with a vision
of their own, viewing the world and its conundrums differently from others.
An Economist’s Miscellany is a playful
book that questions our assumptions about the world and life around though the
eyes of a versatile intellect. In disarming generalisations and provoking new
thoughts and ideas, it succeeds through a conviviality of making the reader an
accomplice and an active partner in discussing and engaging with Basu’s ideas.
